Travelin' Soldier
by ldreed
Summary: Edward is in love with Bella. She doesn't know this, and to get away from thinking of her every waking moment, he enlists in the army. But what happens when they both end up confessing their love for the other? Are they too late?
1. The Beginning

**So…. Mad at me that I practically left ya'll hangin'? Hehe… Erm, Sorry about that. But, I am seriously working on Haunting Dreams, and one day when I was listening to my writing music and writing, I heard **_**Travelin' Soldier**_** by the Dixie Chicks. Now, please, don't get all pissed off and write how they are little bitches and should die, just be happy that I wrote something because of them, 'eh? Please, give this a try, don't shy away just because it's based off of a song/band that you might hate. And, you know how much I love those reviews ******

EPOV

_**Two days past eighteen he was waitin' for the bus in his army green. Sat down in a booth in a café there, gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair.**_

I turned eighteen two days ago, and then I signed up for the military yesterday. They said that I would be sent off right away because they were on a shortage of willing troops right now. They were thinking of drafting soon. It didn't matter for me though; I would have gone to the training and then the battlefield willingly, even if I had been drafted.

I strolled into my favorite café. It was my favorite café because one, it actually served good food, and two; it had the most beautiful waitress in town. I had had the biggest crush on her since I had first gotten to know her.

Bella Swan had moved in three years ago because her mother had remarried and she was trying to be considerate and moved up here to live with her dad. My sister Alice took her in immediately, and through their friendship one formed between Bella and I.

It was an unrequited love; Alice had dutifully kept my secret for me, and I would probably never get to tell Bella that I loved her so dearly. But at least I would get to see her before I left. I made sure that I sat in her waiting area and patiently waited for her to come around.

"Well, hello Edward! How are you?" She asked pleasantly as she placed a menu in front of me on the table. I shook my head and she took it back; this was a routine for us, and I knew it well.

_**He's a little shy so she gives him a smile and he said would you mind sittin' down for awhile and talkin' to me… I'm feelin' a little alone.**_

I also knew what my last words to my could-be-love were. "I'm just having my last _real_ meal before I get on that army bus and serve my country," I said as casually as I could. I had rehearsed this last night with Alice for over an hour.

Bella's eyes widened, and she sat in the booth seat across from me- completely ignoring the calls of protest from the other customers. "What? Edward, please tell me you are joking. You can leave m- us. I mean, everyone will miss you, and how will we know if you're all right! I'm going to be worried sick!" She had raised her voice, and some of my old buddies who were in hearing range were snickering at me- probably thinking that we were finally a couple and having a fight.

I took hold of her hand that was resting on the small tray and squeezed it reassuringly. "I'll be fine Bella. You know I can take care of myself. Remember Alaska-" She interrupted me before I could finish my sentence. "Yeah, but please don't bring that up right now. I remember it perfectly. I still can't believe that you took that _stupid_ bet!"

But she still smiled at me, and I knew that she wasn't going to be too angry with me. "Hey, do you want to sit with me? I still have a few hours until the bus comes to pick us up. _I'm feelin' a little alone_." I asked quietly, desperately wanting some alone time with her before I left.

She bit her lip and looked around her. When she looked out the window and saw something, her face brightened and she turned back to me, smiling a little. "_I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go." _She leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

_**She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go.**_

Then she got up and left me there for an hour while she did her job.

When the hour was finally up, I walked out to the front of the café and waited for Bella to punch out- or whatever they called it. Her small and dainty hand slipped into mine and I marveled at how perfectly it fit there.

"Ready? I know the best place for this." She was smiling, but I could sense the hurt behind her face and words. I nodded my head and let her lead me where she wanted. I would follow her to the ends of the earth if I had to.

"Close your eyes." She said when we had been walking on the bank of a shallow river for a bit. Before this she had not spoken to me at all. I raised an eyebrow and waited for her to explain but she just patiently waited for me to close her eyes.

I sighed and closed them, but peaked when she didn't take my hand again or say anything else. What I saw caught me completely off guard: Bella was running away from me, and _laughing at me_. "Oh! You're gonna get it now!" I said before I ran off after her.

She ran down an overgrown trail and I found her sitting on an old worn out pier. I smiled at her choice and sat down next to her. We were surrounded by silence for a moment, but then I noticed that she was crying.

_**So the went down and sat on the pier.**_

"Bella! What's wrong?" I asked, taking her hand in mine and rubbing my thumb over it in soothing circles. She shook her head and tried to get out of my grasp, but I wasn't letting her go until I had an explanation.

"Talk to me Bella. What did I do?" I waited as patiently as I could for her to calm down and answer. She was making me quite anxious.

"It's nothing… I'm just going to miss you so much and I wish that we could spend more time together. I… Oh, never mind!" Bella looked away from me, but I put my first two fingers under her chin and gently made her eyes meet mine.

"Hey, I know that you're going to miss me… But if it's possible, I think that I am going to miss you even more. I have loved you since the day that you moved here, and I hope that I don't stop while I am gone. Because I truly think that that love is going to be the only thing that gets me through this war now." I told her honestly, pouring out my deepest secrets that I had not told anyone.

"I love you, Edward. But what do you mean by… Now?" She repeated. I smiled sadly and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "The only reason that I enrolled in the army was because I couldn't stop thinking of you. Almost every single thing that I did was tainted by a thought of you. But now that I know that you love me, it's going to be so hard to be away from you." My eyes were filling up with tears and my throat was closing up as I talked.

"Oh Edward!" Bella flung herself into my waiting arms, and I gladly held her. She cried. I don't know how long she cried, but I cried with her.

When we finally stopped, I looked into her eyes and asked her the question that I never would have been able to ask her before today. "_I bet you've got a boyfriend but I don't care, I've got no one to send a letter to. Would you mind if I sent one back here to you?_"

_**I bet you've got a boyfriend but I don't care… I've got no one, to send a letter to. Would you mind if I sent one back here to you?**_

Tears ran down her face as she nodded her head. I smiled sadly again and she put her head on my chest, sobbing.

_**I cried, never gonna hold the hand of another guy. Too young, for him they told her. Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier. Our love will never end, waitin' for the soldier to come back again. **__**Never more to be alone when the letter said, a soldier's coming home.**_

BPOV

Three days. It had been three days since Edward had gotten on that bus and had left for a training camp in California. And it had felt like three years. All I could think about was Edward. Just like he had said on the pier, every action was tainted by a thought of him.

We had promised to write to each other, and he was supposed to send the first letter. It hadn't come yet, and I was starting to get worried. "Bella!" Alice's shrill voice shattered my thoughts and brought me back to the real world.

"What? What did I miss?" I asked, taking in my surroundings. I was still in her car, but we were outside my house now, and not on the highway. "Why are we at my house?"

Alice rolled her eyes and made a shooing motion. "Because my attempt to get you out of the house failed miserably and I was tired of dragging you around." I instantly felt guilty. I had just made our together time a mess.

"I'm sorry Alice! I didn't mean to… I just have a lot on my mind." I started to apologize, but she held a perfectly manicured hand up.

"I know what's really going on, and you don't have to explain. I only wish that one of you had made a move before it was too late." She kissed me on the cheek and made the shooing motion again.

I gave her a weak smile and then got out. In a flurry of bright yellow and roar of the powerful engine, her car was speeding down my street. "Just like her brother." I said under my breath.

Knowing that it probably wasn't here yet, I checked the mail for Edward's letter. I nearly screamed when I saw that it was actually in the mailbox. Leaving the rest of the mail for Charlie, I ran up to my room, surprisingly not tripping.

Taking a deep breath and sitting on my bed, I carefully opened the battered envelope.

_**So the letters came from an army camp in California then Vietnam and he told her of his heart. I**__**t might be love and all of the things he was so scared of.**_

"Bella,

Being in this training camp for three days without you near has been heart wrenching. I hope that it is not this hard for you. I… Miss you so much, and I wish that I had told you my feelings before it was too late. I will come back for you, Bella. Even if I have to kill every enemy that I see, I will come back for you. It may take some time, so please, if you love me as much as I love you, wait for me.

Always yours,

Edward"

Tears came to eyes as I read and re-read his letter. When I had memorized it, I folded it and clutched it to my chest. The only thing that was going to keep Edward and I together now, were our words. That might not be enough for me.

When I had composed myself enough, I sat down at my desk and wrote a letter back to Edward.

"Edward,

I miss you too. It is hard for me, maybe harder. Every time that I go out into Forks or see one of your family members, I immediately think of you. Please don't give up; I need you too much to lose you. Did I mention how much I miss you? I would do anything to see you right now… But I will wait for you. Keep fighting; I know that you are going to be saving so many lives while you are out there.

Love,

Bella"

I looked at the word before my name and my eraser hesitated over it. Did I really want to keep saying that this early on? Did I _really_ love him? I nodded once to myself and then folded my letter and put it in an envelope.

When I came downstairs, Charlie was in the kitchen shorting through the mail. When he heard my footsteps he looked up and smiled at me. "Hey, Bells. How was your shopping trip with Alice?" He asked pleasantly.

I hid the grimace that tried to show on my face. "Um, it was great Dad. I didn't get anything, but I enjoyed the time with Alice." That was reasonable enough. Maybe he wouldn't see through my badly formed lie this time.

Charlie smiled again and said, "Okay" as he turned back to the mail. Well, that was easy enough. Odd, but easy.

I threw on one of the jackets by the door and went to the mailbox. Taking deep breaths, I told myself that the letter would get to Edward and that he would reply back. I kissed the envelope and put it in the box, turning the faded red flap up. A slightly deep but cheerful voice behind me startled me. "Hey Bella!"

It was Jacob Black, one of my only childhood friends. I couldn't help but smile when I saw his young looking face. "Hey Jake. What're you doing here?" I asked curiously. He held up a bright red toolbox with a greasy rag hanging from the handle. "I'm here to help out with your dad's cruiser. I heard that it's been having some issues." I smiled and nodded, even though I had been completely oblivious to this fact… Because I had been too focused on Edward.

I escorted Jacob into the house and called for Charlie. "Jake's here. For the cruiser!" He came around the corner and beamed brightly at Jacob. "Aw, Jake! You're a lifesaver! I never could have afforded to get that thing fixed up. Thanks buddy." Jacob blushed and asked if he could have lunch while he was going to be here. Charlie happily agreed and then took him to the front yard to show him the cruiser.

I smirked at their banter as they disappeared out the front door and went up to my room to do my homework. There was very little that I had to do, and it was still Saturday morning, but I needed something to distract me.

A few hours later, I had finished my homework and was reading (re-reading, actually) Wuthering Heights and Charlie and Jacob came in for lunch. "Bella! Want to come down and have a fish sandwich?" I shook my head. That man could not get enough of his fish.

I came downstairs, but not intending to have one of Charlie's famous fish sandwiches. "I think I'll have a salad Dad. But you guys go ahead." He shrugged. "Your loss" He said. Jacob leaned against the counter as we both moved around the small kitchen, making our lunches.

"Hey Bella. Want to go to the movies with me tonight?" Jacob asked out of the blue. I stopped what I was doing and turned around to look at him. My face had to be something that he did not expect because he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Bella!" Charlie hissed in my ear. I snapped out of my stupor and blinked once before responding. "I, um…. I guess so Jacob." He smiled and relaxed.

I, on the other hand found the rest of the duration of Jacob's stay very awkward- even when he wasn't in the same room as me. I groaned to myself as I stopped trying to read at least one sentence.

I sighed. "This is going to be one _long_ night."


	2. Promotion

EPOV

"Edward Masen, the General requests your presence." Lieutenant Whitlock said, breaking me from my thoughts.

I had been sitting on my cot, reading Bella's letter that had just arrived. She sounded so sad; it pained me to know that I was the cause of her sadness. I nodded to Lieutenant Whitlock and carefully put Bella's letter in my bag. He nodded to me and left the tent.

As I walked to the doorway, I felt all of the men's in the tent eyes on me. I held my head up high, though it felt like a difficult task.

I walked to the General's tent calmly, but my mind was a whirlwind of panicked thoughts. I couldn't decide what the General could possibly want with me. I had done everything that he and all of his Captains and Majors and Colonels had told me to do. Before I entered the large tent, I took a deep breath and steadied myself on my feet.

"Ah, Private Masen. Come in, have a seat." I wiped my palms on my thighs as I settled myself in one of the small leather armchairs. "Now, I just wanted to let you know that there is no reason for you to be nervous," He gave me a pointed look. "This is strictly business; and by the way you have been performing the past days, I would say that you would like this offer." I nodded my head, but did not relax my mind.

"In training, you have excelled quite a bit, Private." He paused, looking me strait in the eyes. "My men and I have been very impressed with your performance, and with much consideration we have decided to promote you to Captain status." His words hit me like a brick wall.

I was torn. On one hand, this was what I had always wanted. Ever since a young age, I had always dreamt of being a Colonel or a General. And a Captain was pretty close to those positions.

But on the other hand, that meant that I would definitely be spending more time in the army, and not with Bella. I couldn't do that to her. She was the only one that I could ever love, and I could not just leave her. It would kill both of us.

"I-" My throat closed up before I could say another word. I truly did not know what I wanted to do about this offer.

Swallowing hard and looking at the General, I said as strongly as I could, "I am going to have to think about that. He nodded, and then went back to the paperwork that was strewn across his desk.

I quietly sat up and left the large tent. Standing across the narrow makeshift dirt road were my only true friends here. I headed over to them. "Dude! You survived!" Emmett McCarty (a Sergeant) yelled and slapped my back. Jasper (Lieutenant Whitlock) said, "I told you there was nothing to worry about, you idiot!" He shook my hand and gave me a large smile. I couldn't find it in me to smile back at him though.

"Hey! Anybody in there? What is wrong with you man? You just got offered to be a Captain! What the hell?" Emmett's voice pushed my thoughts of Bella and doubt about my decision to the back of my mind and reality to the forefront.

"I don't know you guys. It's a big offer and-" Emmett's huge hand in front of my face stopped the words coming from my mouth. "Dude, there are two obvious choices in front of you" He held out his palms by my chest and looked strait at me.

"You can choose the promotion…." He paused for dramatic affect, even though we all knew the other choice.

"Or you can choose Bella." I sucked in my breath and let it out quickly. Emmett had just made it blatantly evident that I was being a baby and not thinking fully about what I should do. "He's right. You know your two choices; choose carefully. Don't rush and make a stupid decision, Edward." Jasper had to poke his head around Emmett's shoulder to be able to see me. After staring at me for a second, they both left to their group tents.

I took another deep breath and went to my own tent. They were right. I really should put some real thought into my decision and make a good one while I'm at it.

Guys were slipping under their blankets all around me and I did as well, but I did not fall asleep for a long time.

Taking one last look at Bella's picture, I made my decision and fell asleep.

--

I hadn't gotten my letter from Edward yet, and I was starting to feel uneasy. Getting up from the couch, I walked to the front door, putting on my coat and a scarf. Fall had begun, Edward's favorite season.

"I'm going for a drive dad!" I yelled as I walked out the door. Its slamming muffled his response, but I thought it sounded something like 'don't stay out too late'.

I had no idea where I was going, and I had no idea how long I was going to be. I climbed into my old truck and slammed the door closed. My hand rested on the clutch, and a memory flooded my mind.

_"Ok, now you need to make sure that you ease up on the clutch nice and slow. Got it?" Edward asked, his hand on mine. The words were entering my ears, but they might as well have been coming out the other._

_ Feeling Edward's hand on mine was amazing. Rough against soft, heated against cooled. I had never felt this way when anyone else touched my skin. "Bella?" I jumped at his voice._

_ Looking at him, I smiled. "Sorry, just nervous. I'm good though." I said, turning on the old red beast. "Are you sure? You don't have to do this you know. We can wait another couple of months." I shivered at his words. I wished they had a different meaning behind them._

_ "No, I just got my license. I want to drive now, Edward." He smiled and took his hand off of mine and crossed his arms. "Ok, we'll see if you still feel that way after a couple of hours in this thing." He smirked at me and motioned for me to start._

_ My heart started pounding, but I built up my courage and shifted the car into gear as I easily and slowly let go of the clutch. _

_ The car lurched forward, and in response I slammed on the break. The car lurched again, but did not roll down the street like I was expecting. "Are you still sure?" Edward asked._

_ I "hmphed" and went through the same process again, more diligently this time. When the car was rolling easily along the road, I glanced at Edward and stuck my tongue out at him. "Ha!" I said triumphantly._

Sniffling, I went through the process of turning my old truck on, imagining Edward sitting next to me, smiling that crooked smile that has broken so many hearts. Including mine.

There was laughter, no playful insults, no lurching of the truck this time, and it made me miss Edward so much. I wished he was here with me, and that I could see him again, even if it was as a friend like two years ago.

Tears rolled down my cheeks, warming my cooling skin. "How am I going to get through this?" I whispered. A tap on my window made me jump so high I almost hit the cab roof.

Holding a hand to my heart, I looked through the window to see a sentimental yet cheerful and enthusiastic Jacob Black smiling at me. I gave a weak smile back and wiped the tears from my cheeks.

Unlocking the doors I motioned for Jacob to get in the passenger seat. "What are you doing? Trying to freeze your butt off or something?" I joked with him, desperately hoping he wasn't going to ask about our 'date' again. I loved Jacob, but I didn't reflect the types of feelings that he had for me…. Those kinds of feelings were now reserved for Edward. Jacob laughed but quickly got to the point. "Well, Bella. If freezing my butt off means that I will get to go out to lunch or hiking or even dinner with you, then yes, that's what I am trying to do." Feeling my lips fall from the formation of my smile slightly, I immediately thought, _of course that's what you came here for. Why can't we just be friends Jacob?_

Running my hand through my long hair and avoiding his gaze, I pretended to think it over. I had gone through this previously- alone and some with Alice. She helped me realize that I could be friends with Jacob and still have fun with him and hang out casually, but I just needed to law down the law.

So I tried my best to do exactly that. "I would love to hang out with you Jacob. Maybe help you rebuild someone's car or go to a movie, but-" I didn't get to finish my statement before he interrupted me.

"But you want to make sure that we have the most absolute fun. Well don't worry Bella. That is what I am here for. I've heard from your dad that you have been feeling a little down since your other friend left for the war, but I can be your new best friend while he's gone! Please Bella, we can do anything you want, just let it be with me." I was surprised that he wasn't clasping his hands together and getting on his knees; he was already begging with his voice and his face. Internally I rolled my eyes. I knew that this wasn't going to turn out very well, but I was lonely and needed a person that did not constantly remind me of Edward. I sighed, giving in.

"Fine, Jacob. But just make sure that it won't make me look like and idiot." When he cocked his head to the side and gave me a questioning look, I did actually roll my eyes at him.

"Clumsy. Klutzy. Come on, Jake. Where have you been all these years?" I cracked a smile to show him I was kidding. Well, in a way I was. Just not about being the clumsiest person ever.

"Awesome! I can't wait for our first date!"

--

**Kinda short, I know. But I like it. So, what did you think? You like, no like? Please, review, and I'll get the next one out!! I love all who review and make sure to have a safe Happy New Year! **


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